South of Scotland exploring potential bid for Super 6 franchise

At the Border League meeting last week six of the seven clubs – Hawick, Gala, Selkirk, Jedforest, Peebles and Kelso – decided to explore the possibility of bidding for one of the six Super 6 Semi Pro Rugby franchises which will be available in November. It’s an exciting time for Scottish club rugby with big changes coming into effect in two years time at the start of the 2019-20 season. As well as this new semi pro league, club rugby will be totally amateur, with a Scottish Championship directly underneath the Super 6, with three National Leagues below that. Hawick RFC President, John Thorburn, has been a big supporter of the South of Scotland team for many years and sees a real chance for the brand to come back permanently. Watch the interview here. There is a lot of talking to be done and questions to be asked about the fine print of any franchise. Melrose, who have opted not to join with the other clubs, are expected to be putting in a bid of their own.

The possibility of having at least one Borders team in the Super 6 is an exciting one and one which is being widely discussed in the Borders community, many loving the idea of a South v Melrose regular fixture at least three times a year, while others find it hard to get their head round the idea of sustaining 70 players from the area. Autonomy is a big deal too. Border Reivers pro team famously ended with little support, many citing the fact that they felt this was not a team controlled by the people of the Borders. With Scottish Rugby putting in 50% financially and expected to have a big say in the running of all six clubs, there are barriers to overcome for sure. The next few weeks will be interesting as we follow the many twists and turns which will undoubtedly occur as we head towards the biggest change in Scottish Club Rugby ever.